Looks like I'm making a neck!

[bobdabilder]

Maybe you can mill out the anchor and remove/replace the truss rod without removing the fretboard.

 

[funkinbottom]

That's an option because I do like the neck.
Can I reuse the fretboard or is that an issue? It's ebony.

Yes, you should be able to remove the board, replace the rod and re-glue the same board. Its not as hard as it seems. The first truss rod I replaced turned out just fine.(I'm no expert by any means) I didn't have the proper tools at the time, but it worked. Kinda crude, yet effective. I heat the neck with an iron to loosen the glue and a couple putty knives to remove the fretboard. Started at the nut end and slowly worked my way down the neck. I put a metal ruler on the neck and the iron on that. Let it heat up for 5 min or so, then carefully worked a putty knife between the two, and once it started to get a little tough to separate I heat up next section and worked my way down the neck.

Like this.



Once the rod was replaced, glued the board back in place and all good.

 

[MynameisMe]

Yes, you should be able to remove the board, replace the rod and re-glue the same board. Its not as hard as it seems. The first truss rod I replaced turned out just fine.(I'm no expert by any means) I didn't have the proper tools at the time, but it worked. Kinda crude, yet effective. I heat the neck with an iron to loosen the glue and a couple putty knives to remove the fretboard. Started at the nut end and slowly worked my way down the neck. I put a metal ruler on the neck and the iron on that. Let it heat up for 5 min or so, then carefully worked a putty knife between the two, and once it started to get a little tough to separate I heat up next section and worked my way down the neck.

Like this.

View attachment 4250228 View attachment 4250229 View attachment 4250230 View attachment 4250231 View attachment 4250232 View attachment 4250233 View attachment 4250234

Once the rod was replaced, glued the board back in place and all good.

View attachment 4250235 View attachment 4250237

I can do this!

 

[crobasster]

Yes, you should be able to remove the board, replace the rod and re-glue the same board. Its not as hard as it seems. The first truss rod I replaced turned out just fine.(I'm no expert by any means) I didn't have the proper tools at the time, but it worked. Kinda crude, yet effective. I heat the neck with an iron to loosen the glue and a couple putty knives to remove the fretboard. Started at the nut end and slowly worked my way down the neck. I put a metal ruler on the neck and the iron on that. Let it heat up for 5 min or so, then carefully worked a putty knife between the two, and once it started to get a little tough to separate I heat up next section and worked my way down the neck.

Like this.

View attachment 4250228 View attachment 4250229 View attachment 4250230 View attachment 4250231 View attachment 4250232 View attachment 4250233 View attachment 4250234

Once the rod was replaced, glued the board back in place and all good.

View attachment 4250235 View attachment 4250237

I wonder, do the frets get loosening with this method ?

 

[Gilmourisgod]

They might if they are glued in, probably get out of whack anyway just by the torque on the board as its being removed. @funkinbottom did you have to level the frets and re-crown?

 

[Durham52]

Just recently I followed a thread about rebuilding a WAL and removing a fretboard from the neck . Some great ideas and a really good run down on the process.
Check out the UK bass forum, Basschat.co.uk- Build Diaries- "Finished. A Very Special Save", by Andyjr1515. The man does some great work and is highly inventive and a great problem solver. His builds and fixes never fail to provide ideas and work arounds.
No doubt there are many great builders and problem solvers her, but we can all pick up tips from each other, no one knows it all. (Though those who think they do, often know the least...)

 

[RichterScale]

no one knows it all

Um,....I know everything.
I just can't seem to remember most of it at the moment.

 

[MynameisMe]

I like this luthier's corner forum because the folks are so helpful and not overly snobbish about sharing their knowledge.

 

[funkinbottom]

I wonder, do the frets get loosening with this method ?

They might if they are glued in, probably get out of whack anyway just by the torque on the board as its being removed. @funkinbottom did you have to level the frets and re-crown?

I was prepared to. However, once the neck was back together, it surprisingly needed no leveling. Now the second time I did a truss rod replacement, (I've only done two replacements to date) it needed leveling and crowning. But it was fairly minimal.

 

[funkinbottom]

I like this luthier's corner forum because the folks are so helpful and not overly snobbish about sharing their knowledge.

So true. The knowledge and experience available for help here in the LC is pretty deep. A special forum for certain. All the great advise, instruction, tips/tricks and tons of encouragement from the builders here, has afforded me the ability to build a couple nice basses from scratch. Without it, I probably never would have taken on the task.

 

[BioWeapon]

I'll second the fretboard removal. I did it once on a small acoustic guitar and it went well. Mind you I did replace the fretboard, but the previous one was damaged before I even started.

It's tedious but certainly feasible if you're generally handy.

 

[Klondike]

Yes, you should be able to remove the board, replace the rod and re-glue the same board. Its not as hard as it seems. The first truss rod I replaced turned out just fine.(I'm no expert by any means) I didn't have the proper tools at the time, but it worked. Kinda crude, yet effective. I heat the neck with an iron to loosen the glue and a couple putty knives to remove the fretboard. Started at the nut end and slowly worked my way down the neck. I put a metal ruler on the neck and the iron on that. Let it heat up for 5 min or so, then carefully worked a putty knife between the two, and once it started to get a little tough to separate I heat up next section and worked my way down the neck.

Like this.

View attachment 4250228 View attachment 4250229 View attachment 4250230 View attachment 4250231 View attachment 4250232 View attachment 4250233 View attachment 4250234

Once the rod was replaced, glued the board back in place and all good.

View attachment 4250235 View attachment 4250237

This is exactly how I have seen it done before. I, personally, have zero experience but there are some really good luthiers on youtube and here on TB all of which I believe use this exact method. Could use same fret board or use something different.